Not Another Teen Movie

12/22/2001

Having a spate of modern rockers reinterpret some of the most beloved new-wave tunes from the '80s isn't as absurd as it sounds.

Having a spate of modern rockers reinterpret some of the most beloved new-wave tunes from the '80s isn't as absurd as it sounds. Not sure? Well, give a listen to Not Another Teen Movie, which is more punchy than kitschy. In addition to Marilyn Manson's cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," the set features System of a Down conducting an audacious experiment by melding multiple genres together for its take on Berlin's "Metro." Kudos to Stabbing Westward's triumphant take on New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" and to Goldfinger for making "99 Luft Balloons" even more enjoyable than the original. Of course, why Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" and the Pretenders' "Message of Love"—tackled, respectively, by Phantom Planet and Saliva—are included in this synth-pop-heavy landscape remains a mystery. And it's too bad Smashing Pumpkins didn't leave Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again" alone, but fortunately, Scott Weiland properly sends up the latter band with his buoyant "But Not Tonight."—CLT